Electronic control unit with one or two ways controlled by electrovalves for programmed watering of lawns, gardens, flower boxes and similar spaces

ABSTRACT

Electronic control units for programmed watering of lawns, gardens, flower boxes and similar spaces, comprise a front panel including a single push-button for selecting a watering program, at least one push-button for starting the selected program and a display. The control units comprise an electronic micro controller which in response to the operation of said push-button causes the visualization of the duration and the frequency of the selected program, and in response to a single operation of the start push-button causes the immediate start of the selected watering program, while the operation of the start push-button for a variable number of times programs the delayed start of the selected program.

The present invention relates to an electronic control unit with one ortwo ways, i.e. with one inlet and one or two outlets, controlled byelectrovalves for programmed watering of lawns, gardens and similarspaces.

Electronic control units for watering of lawns, gardens, flower boxesand similar spaces are known, which have an inlet and an outlet ofwater, and an electrovalve interposed for opening and closing thecommunication between inlet and outlet. The opening and closing times ofthe electrovalve are determined by an internal electronic microcontroller according to selectable programs which differ from oneanother by duration and frequency.

An example of control unit of this type is described in EP 0 748 584 A1and comprises a rotary switch which can be positioned by the user in aplurality of different angular positions, each corresponding to theselection of a respective watering program with duration and repetitionfrequency prefixed by the manufacturer.

In the above control unit, the start instant of the first wateringcoincides with the positioning instant and the indication of theselected program remains available to the user in the form of angularposition of the switch, which with a dedicated indicator points at aprogram number the duration and frequency features of which can be readin a table located inside an opening cover overlapping the switch.

Such a control unit has the quality of being easily programmable also bya non expert user who only has to arrange the switch in the angularposition corresponding to the desired program. On the other hand, it hasthe drawback that the start instant of the first watering coincides withthe programming instant, whereby the physical presence of the user atthat exact time is required, even at an inconvenient time. Secondly, itis not possible to know the time to the start of the next watering or tothe end of the current watering cycle.

Electronic control units with two ways are also known, i.e. with oneinlet and two outlets for the water, in which the outlets are controlledby respective electrovalves electronically controlled according torespective selectable programs.

A control unit with a display, an electronic micro controller and threemicro controller control push-buttons which are used for the selectionand the confirmation of irrigation programs including start time,duration and repetition frequency is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,602,728.

The object of the present invention is to provide a programmableelectronic control unit with one or two ways which is capable ofstarting the first watering immediately or at a delayed time withrespect to the programming time without having to set a clock, and whichis also capable of informing the user about the time to the start of thenext cycle or the time to the end of the current cycle.

According to the present invention, such an object is achieved by anelectronic control unit characterized by comprising a front panelincluding a single push-button for selecting a watering program, atleast one push-button for starting the selected program, a display andan electronic micro controller which in response to the operation ofsaid push-button for selecting a watering program causes thevisualization of the duration, the frequency, and preferably a numberindicative of the selected program, and in response to a singleoperation of the start push-button causes the immediate start of theselected watering program and the visualization of the time to the endof watering, while in case of operation of the start push-button for avariable number of times or for a variable prefixed time programs thedelayed start of the selected program and the visualization of the timeto the start of the watering program.

Therefore, the electronic control unit according to the presentinvention has the same ease of use as that of EP 0 748 584 A1, saving onthe overall dimensions of the front panel by replacing the rotary switchwith a simple push-button, which allows the non mandatory but preferredorder of a list of programs with related irrigation durations andwatering repetition frequencies on the front panel rather than insidethe cover.

Moreover, the delayed start of the watering program with respect to theprogram selection time is allowed, thereby allowing the user not to haveto be present at the first program start time.

Finally, the constant knowledge of the time to the end of watering and,in case of delayed start, of the waiting time before the start itself isallowed.

A second push-button may be provided for the manual actuation ofwatering for a prefixed time.

The same above-described performance may be obtained in an electroniccontrol unit with two water outlet ways controlled by respectiveelectrovalves. Two push-buttons are provided in this case for startingthe watering program which, in the step of selecting the program, allowthe selected program to be associated with one or another of the twoelectrovalves and then allow the selected watering program to be startedfor either of the two electrovalves.

Two embodiments, one with one way and the other with two ways, will nowbe described by way of a non-limiting example with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an electronic control unit with oneway according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows the functional block diagram of the electronic control unitin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows possible examples of visual representations of the displayof the electronic control unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an electronic control unit with twoways according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows the functional block diagram of the electronic control unitin FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows possible examples of visual representations of the displayof the electronic control unit in FIG. 4.

The electronic control unit in FIG. 1 comprises a box-like body 1,within which an electrovalve (not shown) is accommodated, which opensand closes the water connection between an inlet 2 and an outlet 3. Theelectrovalve is electronically controlled by a micro controller, thefunctions of which will be explained hereinafter. One or more batteriescontained inside the box-like body 1 provide the electric power neededfor the operation of the internal electronic components of the controlunit.

The box-like body 1 has a front panel 4 closable with a transparentcover 5 hinged to the top of the box-like body. The front panel 4comprises a program selection push-button 6 for selecting the desiredprogram among a plurality of automatic watering programs preset by themanufacturer by means of the above-mentioned micro controller. Acircumferential sequence of numbers indicative of the selectableprograms, together with an “OFF” writing corresponding to the controlunit turn-off position, is placed around the program selectionpush-button 6.

A list 7 of selectable programs, comprising the program numbers, thedurations thereof and the actuation frequencies thereof, is placed nextto the program selection push-button 6. An irrigation symbol 8 is abovethe duration column and an hourglass symbol 9 is above the wateringfrequency column. It is noted that list 7 is useful but not strictlyrequired since, as explained hereinafter, the programming includes thedirect visualization of the irrigation times and frequencies. Moreover,list 7 may be replaced, for example, with a similar list printed on theinstruction manual of the control unit.

Above the program list 7, the front panel 4 comprises two furtherpush-buttons 10 and 11, the first one of which can be operated foractuating the program selected by means of push-button 6, while thesecond one can be operated for controlling the watering in manual mode.“START” and “MANUAL” writings are above the two push-buttons 10 and 11for providing the user with the indications needed to operate thecorrect push-button.

An LCD display 12, preferably provided with backlighting, is placed nextto the two start push-buttons 10 and 11 and above the selectionpush-button 6, which display is capable of visually representing aplurality of information about the control unit status, as will beexplained in detail below with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the inner electronic circuitry of thecontrol unit. Reference numeral 13 indicates an electronic microcontroller which controls the operation of the electrovalve (indicatedwith reference numeral 14) and of display 12. Micro controller 13 iselectrically powered by means of one or more batteries 15 and iscontrolled by the program selection push-button 6 and by the startpush-buttons 10 and 11. The micro controller further communicates withan input/output port 16 which receives signals from an external device(generally indicated with reference numeral 17) which may be, forexample, a wired rain sensor, a radiofrequency rain sensor (RF sensor)interface, a remote radiofrequency control device or other device.

FIG. 3 shows an example of display 12, which is divided into twovisualization areas 18 and 19. The visualization area 18 displays theinformation about the last selection made by means of the programselection push-button 6. The visualization area 19 displays theinformation about the residual times, meaning the time to the nextirrigation or the time to the end of the current irrigation, and othercontrols.

The visualization area 18 includes a numerical, dual-digit indicator 20for displaying the duration of the watering in minutes, corresponding tothe program selected by means of push-button 6. A symbol 21 indicativeof the irrigation duration and a symbol 22 indicative of the measureunit for the duration, more precisely minutes (m), are represented nextto it. The visualization area 18 further includes a further numerical,dual-digit indicator 23 for displaying the waiting time between twoautomatic irrigations corresponding to the program selected by means ofpush-button 6 in hours or days (i.e. the programmed irrigationfrequency). An hourglass symbol 24 indicative of a wait between twoconsecutive irrigations, a symbol 25 indicative of a measure unit forthe waiting time, more precisely hours (h), and a symbol 26 indicativeof another measure unit for the waiting time, more precisely days (day),are represented next to it.

The visualization area 19 includes in turn a numerical, dual-digitindicator 27 for displaying the remaining time—in days, hours, minutesand seconds—to the next actuation or the remaining time—in minutes orseconds—to the end of the current irrigation. There are furtherrepresented a modular symbol 28 for indicating minutes (m), hours (h) ordays (d) of the time displayed in indicator 27, a hand-shaped symbol 29,indicative of a manual actuation, a budget symbol 30, a symbol 31 ofbattery down or to replace, a symbol 32 of control unit in OFF status,an hourglass symbol 33 indicative of wait between two programmedautomatic irrigations, a symbol 34 of irrigation in progress consistingof two parts, i.e. the watering can body and the water coming outtherefrom, and an umbrella symbol 35 indicative of rain with an adjacentRAIN writing.

The control unit in FIGS. 1-3 may be used as follows.

The selection of the watering program starts by assessing in advance thepossible duration and frequency combinations proposed by themanufacturer and included in list 7. Once the user has selected the mostsuitable program for his/her requirements, he/she presses thepush-button 6 the number of times (corresponding to the identificationnumber of the program) needed to display the irrigation duration andfrequency on display 12, by means of the numerical indicators 20 and 23and symbols 22, 25 and 26. The numerical indicator 27 signals theidentification number of the selected program.

Once the above-mentioned programming has ended, the user can start thewatering cycle corresponding to the selected program by pressing thestart push-button 10. If push-button 10 is pressed only once, symbols 27and 28 of display 12 indicate “0h” and after few seconds (for example3), the watering cycle is started (with corresponding opening of theelectrovalve interposed between inlet 2 and outlet 3) for the selectedduration. If push-button 10 is pressed multiple times (for example 20times), symbols 27 and 28 of the display indicate that the cycle will bestarted with a delay in hours equal to the number of times push-button10 has been pressed minus 1 (for example 19). The first start time setsthe repetition times of the watering cycle with the programmedfrequency.

Once started, the numerical indicator 27 and symbol 28 indicate thewaiting time to the end of the watering cycle, and the waiting time atthe end of watering. After the first start, the watering cycle isperiodically repeated with a period equal to the value displayed by 23and by symbols 25 or 26. During the step of watering, the water cansymbol 34 is lighted together with the symbol representing the water,the latter divided into three parts activated in a sequence to representthe water flowing.

If port 16 is wired or radiofrequency-connected to a rain sensor, thelatter may intervene on micro controller 13 in order to cause theclosing of the electrovalve. In this case, the umbrella symbol 35 withthe flashing RAIN writing, appears on display 12. The watering cansymbol 34 also flashes, but without the water output representation.

Watering in manual mode may be carried out between one automaticwatering and another, or also interrupting the current watering. To thisend, push-button 11 is pressed for three seconds, which on display 12causes the visualization of the “hand” symbol 29, the visualization ofthe manual watering time, for example “5 m”, by means of the numericalindicator 27 and the modular symbol 28, and the visualization of the“OFF” symbol 32, which indicates that the inner electrovalve of thecontrol unit is closed. The manual watering is then started by pressingpush-button 10, which causes the opening of the electrovalve. Display 12continues to show the “hand” symbol 29, the numerical indicator 27 showsthe manual watering time left and the watering can symbol 34 with thewater coming out of the same, indicates that watering is in progress.The rain sensor status is ignored during manual mode operations. Theelectrovalve automatically closes, and accordingly the manual wateringstops at the end of the prefixed time, or it may be ended in advance bypressing push-button 10. Push-button 11 must be pressed for threeseconds with closed electrovalve or a timeout (for example, one minute)must be waited for in order to exit the manual mode.

The control unit in FIGS. 4-6 is constructively and functionally similarto that in FIGS. 1-3. The essential difference is that it includes twowater outlet ways, indicated as 3A and 3B (FIG. 4), and thus twoelectrovalves 14A and 14B, both controlled by micro controller 13 (FIG.5) according to respective watering programs A and B independentlyselectable by means of push-button 6 and two push-buttons 10A and 10Bwhich operate both as electrovalve selection buttons in the step ofselecting the watering program, and as push-buttons for starting theprograms selected for the electrovalves themselves. Display 12 (FIG. 6)differs from that of the previous control unit (FIG. 3) for theadditional provision, in the visualization area 19, of symbols 36 (A)and 37 (B) which indicate that the visualization refers to electrovalve14A or 14B, and of a symbol 38 (+) indicative of the simultaneousopening of both electrovalves.

The programming operation is similar to that described for the controlunit in FIGS. 1-3 except in that, after pressing push-button 6 forselecting the watering program, it is necessary to press either ofpush-buttons 10A and 10B in order to associate the selected program witheither of the two electrovalves 14A and 14B. In order to facilitate theuser, both symbols A and B flash on display 12 prior to programming inorder to indicate that a selection must be made.

Since there is the need to display both the times left of the program ofelectrovalve 14A and those of electrovalve 14B, the control unitautomatically displays the shortest time left by turning on also symbolA or B to which it refers. In any case, the user always has thepossibility of displaying the time left of the other program by pressingpush-button 10 of the queried program (A or B): the control unit willautomatically display the time left of the queried program for a fewseconds (for example 3) to then return to the automatic visualization.

The control by means of the rain sensor is simultaneously applied toboth programs, that of electrovalve 14A and that of electrovalve 14B, inthe same way as described for the control unit in FIGS. 1-3.

Being able to independently program the watering cycles of the twoelectrovalves, it may happen that conditions in which both valves aresimultaneously automatically opened are programmed in an intentional oraccidental manner.

The factory setting of the control unit does not include thesimultaneous opening of the two electrovalves as it is the most criticaloperating mode since, under conditions of not too high operating waterpressures, the simultaneous opening of the two electrovalves may preventthe hydraulic system from correctly operating. Such a mode is called“shifting” since the control unit automatically triggers the opening ofa valve while the other is already open, until the first valve closes.However, in case of sufficiently high pressure, the user can have thepossibility of changing mode, thus allowing the automatic simultaneousopening of both electrovalves.

Therefore, the control unit in FIGS. 4-6 allows the mode to be changedfrom “Shifting” (non concurrence) of the opening of the twoelectrovalves, to “Overlapping” (concurrence) of the opening of the twoelectrovalves.

The operation of switching from one mode to the other may be carried outas follows:

-   -   press and hold the two push-buttons 10A and 6 simultaneously;    -   the condition of “push-button pressure not allowed” is shown for        a few seconds since in normal operation, such a configuration of        pressed push-buttons has no associated function; the average        user, who may not fully understand the difference between the        two modes, when a non allowed condition is displayed will        interrupt the pressure, thereby causing no change between the        two modes;    -   the currently operating mode is then visualized on the display        for a few seconds, for example Shifting represented by symbols A        and B which alternate on consecutive screens and by the watering        can plus water symbol;    -   by releasing push-buttons 10A and 6 in this step, the current        setting does not change;    -   after further seconds, the mode is inverted, in the exemplary        case by switching from the Shifting mode to the Overlapping        mode, in which the display shows symbols A+B, and again the        watering can plus water;    -   by releasing the two push-buttons 10A and 6, the new mode is        accepted and the control unit is reset while keeping the already        programmed settings unchanged.

The manual function is carried out as follows.

-   -   The manual mode is entered by simultaneously pressing the two        push-buttons 10A and 10B for few seconds, for example 3. During        these seconds, the flashing hand symbol 29 is displayed.    -   To manually open if closed, or close if open, electrovalve 14A        for a time for few minutes, preset at the factory, it is        sufficient to press push-button 10A. The visualization is        similar to that of the control unit in FIGS. 1-3 with the        addition of the turning on of symbol “A”.    -   To manually open if closed, or close if open, electrovalve 14B        for the same minutes, preset at the factory, it is sufficient to        press push-button 10B. The visualization is similar to that of        the control unit in FIGS. 1-3 with the addition of the turning        on of symbol “B”.    -   Both valves may be opened manually.    -   The manual mode is exited by pressing again push-buttons 10A and        10B for a few seconds, for example 3, or after a prefixed        timeout, only from the condition in which both valves are        closed.    -   For all the 3 seconds, the “manual” symbol 29 flashes.    -   At the end, the condition that would have naturally occurred if        the manual mode had not been entered is restored, with the        exception that a condition of wait for the next watering is        always switched to. In fact, all automatic openings of the valve        are interrupted and disabled during the manual mode.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic control unit with one or twoways controlled by electrovalves for programmed watering of lawns,gardens, flower boxes and similar spaces, comprising a front panel, adisplay and an electronic micro controller, wherein said front panelcomprises a single program selection push-button for selecting theduration and the repetition frequency of a watering program by movingindicators through a circumferential sequence of numbers correspondingto respective selectable watering programs and a printed list ofselectable numbered watering programs with related watering duration andrepetition frequency, said front panel also comprising at least onestart push-button for starting the selected program with said durationand repetition frequency, said electronic micro controller beingcontrolled by said selection and start push-buttons and being connectedto said display so that, in response to the operation of said selectionpush-button, the micro controller causes the visualization of theduration and the frequency of the selected program and, in response to asingle operation of the start push-button, the micro controller causesthe immediate start of the selected watering program and the advancedvisualization of the start time, while in case of operation of the startpush-button for a variable number of times or for a variable prefixedtime the micro controller programs the variable delayed start of theselected program and the visualization of the delayed start time for theselected program.
 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, inresponse to the operation of said selection push-button, the microcontroller also controls the visualization of the selected programindication number.
 3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, inresponse to a single operation of said start push-button, the microcontroller also controls the visualization of the time to the end ofwatering.
 4. The electronic control unit according to claim 1, whereinsaid micro controller also controls the visual representation of thewaiting time between a watering operation and the next one.
 5. Theelectronic control unit according to claim 1, wherein the front panelalso comprises a further push-button for actuation of a manual wateringstart mode for a prefixed time.
 6. The electronic two-way control unitaccording to claim 1, comprising two start push-buttons used forassociation of the selected program to one or another of twoelectrovalves for control of the two ways and for the immediate ordelayed start of said selected program.
 7. The electronic two-waycontrol unit according to claim 6, comprising a manual watering startmode which can be actuated by simultaneous operation of said startpush-buttons.
 8. The electronic control unit according to claim 6,comprising a mode of simultaneous actuation of the watering programs ofthe two electrovalves and a mode of non-simultaneous actuation a of thewatering programs of the two electrovalves.